Portable type-writer.



No. 532,l37.y Patented sept. 3, lem.

A. c. FERGUSON.

PonT'ABLE TYPE wmTR.

` (Application med Nov. 22, 1900.) (No Mqdel.) 2 Sheets-Sheet I.

" l.. llil I .l V f! lum @fum I N la? @if lim L@ By gjqffzf No.'682,l37.

Patented Sept. 3, |901; A. C, FERGUSON. PORTABLE TYPE WRITER. (ApplttmledNv 22 1900) (No Model.) 2 Shady-*Sheet 2.

m l 'In y@ @4Z/f UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR O. FERGUSON, OF SARATOGA SPRINGS, NEW YORK.

PORTABLE TYPE-WRITER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 682,137, datedSeptember 3, 190i. Application filed November Z2, 1900. Serial NO-371370- (NO modem To @ZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR C. FERGUSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Saratoga Springs, in the county of Saratoga and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvement-s in PortableType- Writers, of which the following is a specification, referencebeing had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to type-Writers, and among the objects in vieware the construction of a practical useful machine of comparativelydiminutive size convenient for use upon the lap of the operator or uponan arm of a chair or other temporary, ordinary, not special, nornecessarily-required support; the simplification and reduction of thenumber of the mechanical parts to the greatest extent possible Withoutdeterioration of practical usefulness and the production of printedmatter of clearness of impression and uniform appearance the provisionof a motive power for doing the work of selecting and bringing to theprinting-point a desired character, which Work has heretofore been donein this class of type-Writers by the depression of a key by theoperator, and a means for reserving the said motive power at the will ofthe operator and adapting one set of keys to, in connection with ashiftable imprinting member carrying both upper and lower case type,select its character of either case.

Other and further advantages of the invention will appear in thefollowing description and the novel features thereof will beparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings, Figure lis a diagrammatic plan, on anenlarged scale, of some of th'e principal elements of a type- Writerembodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a perspective of a portion of thekeyboard and one of thekeys mounted therein. a side elevation withparts, including the paper-carriage and adj uncts, in section on theline 2 2 of Fig. l; and Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of a part of themotor and a stopkey or latch for reserving the motive power. v Likeletters refer to like parts in all the figures of the drawings.

This invention is illustrated as applied to that type of machine inwhich the printing characters are arranged upon a Wheel or its Fig. 3is' equivalent,together with means for rotating the same so as to bringa desired character to the printing-point and in which the keys at thekeyboard serve the function of selecting the desired printing character.It is apparent,. however, that the invention may be readily applied totype-Writers of any desired class by persons skilled in the art.

A represents a base upon which the track B for the paper-carriage O andplaten D, together with their adjunct's, may be mounted.

E represents a frame which is pivoted at one end in standardV A',projecting from the base A. A spring E' is secured to the frame E andrests at its free end on the base A, so that When the frame E and theparts carried thereby are depressed the spring E returns said frame toits normal position, which is determined by a stop E2, projecting fromthe base or any relatively fixed part to and over or above the frame, asclearly shown.

In standards A2, projecting from the base, there is mounted a rock-shaftF, carrying arms G of a spacer-bar G and also carrying theescapement-dogs l-l, which coperate With the rack-bar O' in the usualmanner and are carried by a plate H', extending from the dogs to therock-shaft F, to which it is secured. A spring H2 extends from the plateH to a point beneath the frame E, said spring being sufficiently rigidto oscillate theescapement-dogs when the frame E is depressed. Itvvillbe seen that the escapement is operated by a depression of either thespace-bar G or of the frame E.

' I is the inking-roller, carried by an arm l', pivoted in the standardl2, projecting upwardly from the base or any other relatively fixed partof the type-Writer. Any other desired form of inking mechanism may beemployed, as my invention in this instance does not include the same northe details hereinbefore described, these being shown simply toillustrate one form and arrangement of details to constitute a completemachine, as my invention in this instance has reference to portions of amachine which Will be now more particularly described. l

Within the frame E is mounted a shaft J, having thereon a series of pinsor projections J', in numbers equaling the number of vprintingcharacters in one set K' on the periphery TOO of the wheel K. This shaftis provided withv collars J2 J3, which permit a longitudinal movement ofthe shaft to bring either one of the two sets K of printing charactersover the printing-point. This movement of the shaft is produced by thekey L, which is mounted upon a bell-crank lever pivoted to a relativelyfixed part and having one of its arms slotted, as at L2, to ride a pinL2, projecting from a collar L4, loosely tted on the shaft J andprevented from longitudinal movement thereonby pinL5, as clearly shownin Fig. 3. As the shaft J during the operation of printing is to becontinuously rotated by a suitable motive power extraneous to theoperator, I provide a device for regulating the rotation of the shaft.In this instance I have shown a fan-governor M, having blades M', whichin the rotation of the shaft are opposed by the surrounding atmosphere,so that by properly proportioning the area of the blades to the forceexerted by the motor a f regularity in the rotation of the type-wheelshaft is secured. A pulley N is secured to the end of the shaft for theoperation of a belt N', which extends from the pulley around suitableguide-pulleys N2 upon the base of the machine to the motor O. (See Fig.l.) In the movement of the shaft J the belt Nl oscillates from thepulley N2 as a center, and thus prevents the formation of slack therein.

The motor comprises a cylindrical case containing a spring O', one endof which is secured to the case, as at O2, and the other end is securedto a Central spindle O3, upon which is mounted a ratchet O4, which isoperated by a pawl O5, pressed by a spring O6, both mounted on a leverO7, one end of which is pivoted on the spindle O3 and the other end ofwhich projects to a point accessible to the operator. A detent O8 ismounted upon the case of the motor and spring-pressed against theratchet. Upon the periphery of the motor-case is mounted or arranged thebelt N. Itis apparent that by winding the spring of the motor power willbe provided which, through the medium of the belt, will rotate thetype-wheel and its shaft. Now in order to reserve and economize thepower of the motor during such intermissions as occur in the operationof printing I have provided a stop-key or latch P, which is adapted tothrow or to be thrown into contact with the motorcase, so as to stop arotation thereof when under the infiuence of the spring. By reference toFig. 4 it will be seen that the stopkey comprises an angularly-shapedlever, one

- end P of which is, by depressing the opposite end thereof, thrown intomesh with a series of slots or teeth O9, formed on the periphery of themotor-case. A spring P2 is secured at the pivotal point P3 of thestop-lever in the standard A5, projecting from the base A, and saidspring has two struck-up indentations or projections P4, adapted toalternately enter a similar depression (not shown) formed in the edge ofthe stop key or lever, whereby said lever is automatically maintained inContact with the motor-case or out of contact with the same whenoperated by the user for controlling the motor, as described.

Upon the top of the frame E is mounted the keyboard Q, which comprisesan upper plate Q' and a lower plate Q2. These may be arranged whollyabove the frame E or one above and the other below said frame, as shownby the modified form in Fig. 2. R represents one of the keys, and itcomprises a head of usual construction bearing the character which isprinted by the use of the key. In the stein R of the key is a cross-pinR2, which limits the downward movement of the key, and between theplates of the keyboard there is a spring R3, which encircles the stemand bears at its upper end against a pin or washer R4, so as to normallyhold the key in an elevated position. At the lower end of the stem thekey is provided with a lateral extension R5, so that it may contact witha proper coperating pin or projection J of the type-wheel shaft J ineither of its positions when printing lower-case or caps.

The power for moving the carriage during its step-by-step advancementmay be provided by the motor O, in which case a cord S, (see Fig. 4,)extending to any desired `point on the carriage C, is the preferableform, or Said power may be provided by the usual well-knownpower-providing spring S', Fig. l, which by the cord S2, connected at adesirable point to the carriage, moves the latter during the operationof printing after the spring has been put under tension by drawing thecarriage to the right in the ordinary well-known manner. A shield T,Fig. 3, and dotted line, Fig. l, is provided to prevent oontact of thehand of the operator with the pulleys and belt connecting the type-shaftwith the motor.

The operation of the invention is clearly apparent from the foregoingdescription. When the operator desires to print, the stop-key iselevated, and the motor-spring having been wound up by the lever O7,which may be a simple crank, the motor, through the medium of the belt,rotates the type-shaft continuously, and the depression of a key at thekeyboard stops the rotation of the shaft and of the type-wheel with theprinting character of the wheel, which has been selected by thedepression of the key, at the printing-point, and afurther depression ofthe key and frame carryin g the type-wheel brings theselected char--Kacter upon the inking-Wheel, which swings backward out of the way, andnally the selected character reaches the paper on the platen andtheixnpression'is made. Removal of pressure from the key permits thespring E to return the frame, type-wheel, and the keyboard to theirnormal position. The distance of the type-wheel from the platen in Fig.3 is greatly exaggerated for the purpose of clearness of illustration.InY practice this distance is no greater than sufficient for the IOO IIO

4as an ink-ribbon.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a type-writing machine, a type-whee shaft mounted in a framepivoted at one end and provided with a pulley thereon, amotor directlyconnected with said pulley, and a key adapted in its movement to engageand stop the rotation of said shaft and afterward move said frame andshaft downward toward a platen; substantially as specified.

2. In a type-writer, a type-wheel shaft provided with a driving-pulleyand mounted in a frame pivoted at one end, a motor connected with saidpulley to continuously rotate said shaft, and keys mounted in said frameand adapted to engage projections on the shaft to stop the rotation ofsaid shaft and to depress said frame and shaft; substantially asspecified.

8. In a type-writer, a type-wheel shaft provided with a driving-pulleyand mounted in aframe pivoted at one end, a governor mounted upon saidshaft, and a motor operatively connected to said shaft; substantially asspecified.

4. In a type-writer, a type-wheel, a rotatably and longitudinallymovable shaft carrying said wheel at one end thereof and mounted in aframe pivoted at one end, a pulley mounted at the pivoted end tocontinuously drive the shaft, means for moving the shaft longitudinally,a motor connected with said pulley, and a key adapted in its continuedmovement to stop the rotation of said shaft and depress said frame andshaft; substantially as specified.

5. A type-writer comprising a type-wheel, a shaft carrying said wheelmounted in a frame pivoted at one end and provided with a series ofprojections positioned upon the shaft with relation to the location ofthe characters on the type-wheel, and a series of keys adapted to bemoved into contact with said projections; substantially as specified.

6. In a type-writer a type-wheel and its shaft mounted in a pivotedframe, a series of projections upon such shaft, and a series of keyscarried by said frame and adapted to Contact with said projections;substantially as specified.

7. In a type-writer comprising a type-Wheel having a plurality of setsof printing characters and mounted upon a shaft carried by a pivotedframe and having a single series of projections disposed with relationtothe position'of the printing characters in each set thereof, means formoving said shaft longitudinally, means for rotating said shaft, and aseries of keys each of which is adapted to contact with one of saidprojections in either position of the shaft; substantially as specified.

S. In a type-writer, a type-wheel and its shaft mounted in a framepivoted at one end, a pulley mounted in a type-wheel shaft at thepivoted end of the frame, a motor, exible connections between the motorand the typewheel shaft whereby the type-wheel may be continuouslyrotated regardless of its position and that of the pivoted frame, and akey traveling in the path of a projection from said shaft and adapted todepress the frame and shaft and hold said shaft against rotation;substantially as specified.

9. In a type-writer the combination with the type-Wheel and its shaft,of a pulley mounted on said shaft, a motor having projections upon arotating part, a belt extending from the motor to said pulley, and apivoted key to engage said projectionsfor stopping the motor;substantially as specified.

10. The combination with the type-Wheel shaft of the type-Writer andwith a pulley fixed thereon, of a motor comprising springbarrel andspring, a connecting-belt, suitable guide-pulleys, a stop-key adapted tocontact with spring-barrel, and means for automatically retaining thestop-keys in and out of contact with the barrel; substantially asspecified.

11. In a type-writer the combination with the type-wheel shaft having apulley thereon, of a motor operatively connected with said pulley andwith the carriage of the typewriter; substantially as specified.

12. 'Ihe combination with the paper-carriage and type-wheel shaft of atype-writer, of a spring-motor, connections between the same and thecarriage and type-wheel shaft, and a pivoted lever having ratchetconnections with said motor and accessible to the operator for windingthe spring of the motor; substantially as specified.

13. In a type-writerapivoted frame, a typewheel and its shaft mounted insaid frame, and a keyboard comprising plates arranged above and belowsaid frame, and keys operatively mounted in said plates; substantiallyas specified. A

14. In atype-writer apivoted frame, a typewheel and its shaft mounted insaid frame, for longitudinal movement and for rotation, a collar mountedrotatively on the shaft and fixed against longitudinal movement thereon,and a key mounted on the frame and adapted to move said collar;substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature. in presence of two witnesses.

ARTHUR C. FERGUSON.

Witnesses:

ALFRED T. GAGE, E. B. STooKING.

IIO

